Pickup truck box reinforcement for fifth wheel pedestal

ABSTRACT

A reinforcement panel for the floor of a pick-up truck bed. The reinforcement panel is assembled between the floor of the pick-up truck and a fifth wheel cross member. The reinforcement panel includes transversely extending reinforcing or stiffening ribs. The stiffening ribs resist deflection in the area of the gooseneck ball receptacle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/471,302filed Aug. 28, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated inits entirety by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to reinforcement structures for the floor of apickup truck box that is adapted to receive a fifth wheel pedestal orgooseneck ball.

BACKGROUND

Fifth wheel pedestals that include a gooseneck ball receptacle areavailable that are structurally supported by a fifth wheel cross memberon the frame rails of the pickup truck below the truck bed. The floor ofthe pickup truck bed above the fifth wheel cross member is subject to anunacceptable amount of deflection in the center of the pickup truck box.Unacceptable deflection is characterized by “oil canning” when pressureis applied to the floor by placing a load on the floor or walking on thefloor.

There is little clearance available between the lower side of the floorof the pickup truck bed and the fifth wheel cross member. Anyreinforcement of the pickup truck floor above the fifth wheel crossmember must have a limited height and is restricted in the longitudinaldirection by the fifth wheel pedestal receptacles. A reinforcement mustalso be as light weight as possible to meet fuel economy goals.

This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and otherproblems as summarized below.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of this disclosure, a reinforcement is providedfor a pickup truck bed floor. The reinforcement comprises a paneladapted to be attached to a lower surface of the floor that defines anopening for a gooseneck ball receptacle. The reinforcement includes adownwardly extending flange on the front edge and rear edge of the paneland a weld flange oriented to engage the lower surface. Outer portionsof the panel are spaced to a greater extent from the lower surface andalso include a plurality of transversely extending stiffening ribs.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, a pickup truck bed isdisclosed that is adapted to receive a fifth wheel pedestal. The pickuptruck bed includes a floor having longitudinally extending ribs. A fifthwheel cross member assembly is spaced from the floor and attached to apair of frame rails that directly receive loads applied by the fifthwheel pedestal. A reinforcement panel having transversely extending ribsis attached to a lower surface of the floor above the reinforcementassembly and is raised in a central area to avoid contacting the fifthwheel cross member assembly near the gooseneck receptacle.

According to other aspects of this disclosure, the stiffening ribs mayinclude a front rib and a rear rib that extend from a pair of right sidefifth wheel pedestal receptacles to a pair of left side fifth wheelpedestal receptacles. The stiffening ribs may include a front pair ofgooseneck anti-deflection ribs and a rear pair of gooseneckanti-deflection ribs that each extend from the front rib and rear rib toa transverse reinforcing rib at an angle perpendicular to a radial lineextending from the center of the gooseneck receptacle. The stiffeningribs and the gooseneck anti-deflection ribs may have a height that isless than a space defined between the floor and a fifth wheel crossmember.

The panel may have a central section that defines the gooseneckreceptacle opening that is flanked by right and left sections thatextend between a front fifth wheel pedestal receptacle and a rear fifthwheel pedestal receptacle, and wherein the central section is wider inthe longitudinal direction than the right and left sections. The weldflanges may be parallel to the floor and extend continuously across thecentral section and the right and left sections.

The longitudinally extending ribs and the transversely extending ribsform a grid when the reinforcement panel is attached to the floor thatresists deflection of the floor in the longitudinal and transversedirections.

The above aspects of this disclosure and other aspects are described ingreater detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left side/rear perspective view of a pickup truck;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a pickup truck with a pickup truck floorreinforcement panel;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a pickup truck floor reinforcement andfifth wheel cross member between the wheel wells;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrated embodiments are disclosed with reference to thedrawings. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare intended to be merely examples that may be embodied in various andalternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. The specific structural and functional details disclosed arenot to be interpreted as limiting, but as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art how to practice the disclosed concepts.

Referring to FIG. 1, a pick-up truck 10 is shown from the rear left sideto provide a view of a truck bed 12. The truck bed 12 includes a floor16. A gooseneck ball receptacle 18 is shown extending through the floor16. A reinforcement panel 20 is shown in phantom lines as it is attachedto the bottom of the floor 16. The floor 16 includes longitudinallyextending ribs 22. The longitudinally extending ribs 22 resistdeflection in the floor 16 in the fore-and-aft direction.

Referring to FIG. 2, the pick-up truck 10 is shown in a top plan viewshowing the pick-up truck bed 12. The floor 16 is shown without thelongitudinally extending ribs 22, shown in FIG. 1. The reinforcementpanel 20 secured to the bottom of the floor 16 extends between the wheelhousings 24. The gooseneck ball receptacle 18 is shown centered relativeto the reinforcement panel 20 and the wheel housings 24.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the reinforcement panel 20 and gooseneck ballreceptacle 18 are shown with the floor removed in FIG. 3. Thereinforcement panel 20 extends between the wheel housings 24. Transversebeams 26 are attached to frame rails 28 that extend in a longitudinaldirection relative to the vehicle. The transverse beams 26 extend in atransverse direction and are provided in front of and in back of a fifthwheel cross member 30. The fifth wheel cross member 30 supports thetruck bed 12 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) and is adapted to receive a fifthwheel pedestal (not shown) on fifth wheel pedestal receptacles 32. Thefifth wheel pedestal receptacles 32 receive the legs of the fifth wheelpedestal. Loads applied to the fifth wheel pedestal are transferreddirectly through the fifth wheel pedestal receptacles 32 and the fifthwheel cross member 30 to the frame rails 28. The fifth wheel crossmember 30 also includes an opening 36 for receiving the gooseneck ballreceptacle 18.

Referring specifically to FIG. 4, the reinforcement panel 20 includesdownwardly extending flanges 38 on a front edge 40 and a rear edge 42 ofthe reinforcement panel 20. Weld flanges 44 are provided adjacent thedownwardly extending flanges 38. A lower portion 46 of the reinforcementpanel 20 is spaced from the floor 16 to make the section deeper andstronger than the lower portion of the panel around the gooseneck ballreceptacle 18. The lower portion 46 includes a front stiffening rib 48and a rear stiffening rib 50. A transverse stiffening rib 56 is formedbetween the front stiffening rib 48 and the rear stiffening rib 50.

Referring to FIG. 3, four gooseneck anti-deflection stiffening ribs 52are provided that extend from the front stiffening rib 48 and rearstiffening rib 50. The gooseneck anti-deflection stiffening ribs 52, asillustrated, extend at an approximately 45° angle relative to the frontand rear stiffening ribs 48 and 50. The angular orientation of thegooseneck anti-deflection stiffening ribs 52 may vary from 45°, but arepreferably oriented perpendicular to a radial line extending from thecenter of the gooseneck ball receptacle 18. A plurality of thetransverse reinforcing ribs 56 are provided between the front stiffeningrib 48 and rear stiffening rib 50 to provide additional transversestiffness for the reinforcement panel 20 and, in turn, for the floor 16(shown in FIG. 1).

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the cross section taken through thegooseneck ball receptacle 18 in a central section 58 to illustrate therelationship between the floor 16, reinforcement panel 20 and fifthwheel cross member 30. The fifth wheel cross member 30 is closely spacedto the floor 16 in the central section 58 that defines the gooseneckball opening 36. The close spacing in the central section 58 limits theheight of the reinforcement panel 20 and minimize the possibility ofcontact with the fifth wheel cross member 30. The spacing between thereinforcement panel 20 and the fifth wheel cross-member 30 is theminimum spacing to prevent contact during vehicle operation. At thecenter of the reinforcement panel 20, downwardly extending flanges 38are provided on the front edge 40 and rear edge 42. The weld flanges 44are disposed between the downwardly extending flanges 38 and the frontstiffening rib 48 and rear stiffening rib 50, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the reinforcement panel 20 is shown to includethe central section 58, a right section 60 and a left section 62. Thecentral section 58 has a greater width centered in the longitudinaldirection than the right section 60 and left section 62. The right andleft sections 60 and 62 are of reduced width to accommodate thestructure of the fifth wheel pedestal receptacles 32 that are providedin front of and in back of the reinforcement panel 20. As shown in FIG.4, the right section 60 and left section 62 include the beads 48, 50 and56 that are spaced to a greater extent from the floor 16. As shown inFIG. 5, the central section 58 is closer to the floor 16 and the beads48, 50 and 56 are shown to be in contact with the floor 16.

The weld flanges may be spot welded to the floor 16. The longitudinallyextending ribs 22 in the floor 16 (shown in FIG. 1) in combination withthe stiffening ribs 48 and 50 and transverse reinforcement rib 56provide a perpendicular grid pattern of stiffening elements that resistdeflection in the area corresponding to the location of the fifth wheelcross member 30.

The embodiments described above are specific examples that do notdescribe all possible forms of this disclosure. The features of theillustrated embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments ofthe disclosed concepts. The words used in the specification are words ofdescription rather than limitation. The scope of the following claims isbroader than the specifically disclosed embodiments and also includesmodifications of the illustrated embodiments.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A pickup truck bed with a fifth wheel pedestal,comprising: a floor having longitudinally extending ribs; a fifth wheelcross member assembly spaced from the floor and attached to a pair offrame rails that directly receive loads applied by the fifth wheelpedestal; and a reinforcement panel having transversely extending ribsattached to a lower surface of the floor above the fifth wheel crossmember assembly and spaced from the cross member assembly.
 9. The pickuptruck bed of claim 8 wherein the reinforcement panel defines an openingfor a gooseneck ball receptacle.
 10. The pickup truck bed of claim 8wherein the reinforcement panel further includes: a downwardly extendingflange on a front edge and a rear edge of the panel; a weld flangeoriented to engage the lower surface; and outer portions of thereinforcement panel spaced from the lower surface of the floor thatincludes the transversely extending stiffening ribs and a centralportion of the reinforcement panel that includes transversely extendingstiffening ribs that contact the floor.
 11. The pickup truck bed ofclaim 8 wherein the transversely extending ribs include a front rib anda rear rib that extend from a pair of right side fifth wheel pedestalreceptacles to a pair of left side fifth wheel pedestal receptacles. 12.The pickup truck bed of claim 11 wherein the transversely extending ribsinclude a front pair of gooseneck anti-deflection ribs and a rear pairof gooseneck anti-deflection ribs that each extend from a fronttransversely extending stiffening rib and a rear transversely extendingstiffening rib to a transverse reinforcing rib at an angle perpendicularto a radial line extending from a center of a gooseneck receptacle. 13.The pickup truck bed of claim 12 wherein the transversely extending ribsand the gooseneck anti-deflection ribs have a height that is less than aspace defined between the floor and the fifth wheel cross member. 14.The pickup truck bed of claim 8 wherein the panel has a central sectionthat defines a gooseneck receptacle opening that is flanked by right andleft sections that extend between a front fifth wheel pedestalreceptacle and a rear fifth wheel pedestal receptacle, and wherein thecentral section is wider in a longitudinal direction than the right andleft sections.
 15. The pickup truck bed of claim 14 further comprising apair of weld flanges that are parallel to the floor and extendcontinuously across the central section and the right and left sections.16. The pickup truck bed of claim 8 wherein the longitudinally extendingribs and the transversely extending ribs form a grid when thereinforcement panel is attached to the floor that resists deflection ofthe floor in the longitudinal and transverse directions.
 17. A pickuptruck bed floor assembly comprising: a floor; a fifth wheelcross-member; and a reinforcement welded to the floor above thecross-member including a panel having a central section defining anopening for receiving a gooseneck receptacle, a right section and a leftsection, the panel including a plurality of transversely extendingstiffening ribs spaced from the floor in the right and left sections,and in contact with the floor in the central section.
 18. The pickuptruck bed floor assembly of claim 17 wherein the reinforcement furtherincludes: a downwardly extending flange on a front edge and a rear edgeof the panel; a weld flange oriented to engage the lower surface; andouter portions of the reinforcement spaced from the lower surface of thefloor that includes the plurality of transversely extending stiffeningribs and a central portion of the reinforcement that includestransversely extending stiffening ribs that contact the floor.
 19. Thepickup truck bed floor assembly of claim 17 wherein the transverselyextending ribs include a front rib and a rear rib that extend from apair of right side fifth wheel pedestal receptacles to a pair of leftside fifth wheel pedestal receptacles.
 20. The pickup truck bed floorassembly of claim 19 wherein the transversely extending ribs include afront pair of gooseneck anti-deflection ribs and a rear pair ofgooseneck anti-deflection ribs that each extend from a fronttransversely extending stiffening rib and a rear transversely extendingstiffening rib to a transverse reinforcing rib at an angle perpendicularto a radial line extending from a center of a gooseneck receptacle. 21.The pickup truck bed floor assembly of claim 20 wherein the transverselyextending ribs and the gooseneck anti-deflection ribs have a height thatis less than a space defined between the floor and the fifth wheel crossmember.
 22. The pickup truck bed floor assembly of claim 17 wherein thepanel has a central section that defines a gooseneck receptacle openingthat is flanked by right and left sections that extend between a frontfifth wheel pedestal receptacle and a rear fifth wheel pedestalreceptacle, and wherein the central section is wider in a longitudinaldirection than the right and left sections.
 23. The pickup truck bedfloor assembly of claim 22 further comprising a pair of weld flangesthat are parallel to the floor and extend continuously across thecentral section and the right and left sections.
 24. The pickup truckbed floor assembly of claim 17 wherein the longitudinally extending ribsand the transversely extending ribs form a grid when the reinforcementis attached to the floor that resists deflection of the floor in thelongitudinal and transverse directions.